Taking a break from the World Cup, I'll be live blogging the NHL draft Friday night. Coverage will begin at 7 p.m. on Versus.

The big story, of course, is Taylor Hall vs. Tyler Seguin, and the fact that the Boston Bruins, by virtue of the Phil Kessel trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs, are guaranteed to land one or the other.

Many people have strong opinions in the Taylor vs. Tyler debate, ranging from who's better, to who will go first (Edmonton has the #1 pick, Boston has #2), to who suits each team's needs the best, to whether there will be a trade by Boston to guarantee the #1 pick. My opinion? The Bruins won this in the lottery, when they guaranteed themselves the #2 spot. The Tyler/Taylor stramash is akin to the ongoing Crosby/Ovechkin debate: Both are great players, and I'd be happy with either. They're almost exactly the same size (6-0, 185), have great skills, including skating, shooting and playmaking, scored at almost exacty the same rate (Hall 40g, 66a; Seguin 48g, 58a), and are both reportedly great kids.

But as intriguing as the Taylor/Tyler story is, that tale will be resolved in the first few mintues, and there will be 28 more picks to come the first night. Other potential developments I'll keep an eye on are:

-- Who's Columbus going to pick at #4? Remember, the Springfield Falcons are now the AHL farm club of the Blue Jackets. This draft could net some kids we'll see sooner or later in Springfield. Columbus is in need of a playmaking center, but perhaps a bigger need is a top defenseman, which is why several mock drafts have the Blue Jackets choosing Erik Gudbranson, a 6-4, 195-pound two-way D-man in the mold of Chris Pronger. Cam Fowler is the top-ranked defenseman and will probably go #3, but some put Gudbranson ahead of him.

-- Who's the top New England prospect? Probably right wing Charlie Coyle of Weymouth, who's ticketed for Boston University. Other New England kids that might sneak into the first round include left wing Kevin Hayes of Dorchester (Boston College) and left wing Connor Brickley (NESN analyst Andy Brickley's cousin) of Everett.

-- Will the Bruins make a deal to trade up? GM Peter Chiarelli has stated that the #2 pick is untouchable, but it is possible they pull off a late deal to snag another pick in the first round, especially after trading their own first-round pick, #15, for Nathan Horton.

-- The "Russian Factor." The biggest question here, of course, is Kirill Kabanov. Once projected as a top five pick, Kabanov has fallen all the way out of the first round in most mock drafts. His talent is undeniable; his work ethic is highly questionable. He's been kicked off his Canadian Junior team and the Russian Under-18 team, fired several agents, and reportedly has the prototypical Father From Hell. Egocentric head case or misunderstood kid? The debate continues to rage.

But Kabanov, as intriguing as his story may be, is far from the only Russian garnering draft interest. Center Alexander Burmistov could go in the top ten, though he's tremendously undersized (one scout said he's "built like Gilligan."). That he played in the OHL (for Barrie) this past season is a point in his favor. Right wing Vladimir Tarasenko could be a top 15 choice, but the question of whether or not he would leave Russia (he plays in the KHL) could scare off some clubs.

-- To goalie or not to goalie? Picking a netminder in the first round of the draft is often a gamble. (Rick DiPietro, anyone?) But if one does get chosen, it'll probably be Jack Campbell. He'd be an interesting subject for the cameras to keep track of as names are being called.